OLD WINDSOR
Windelsore or Wyndelsor, Windesor or Wyndesore
(xiii cent.); Wyndyshore, (xiv cent.).
Old Windsor is a fairly large parish, part of which
was separated in 1894 to form the new civil parish
of Sunningdale, while another part was annexed to
its ecclesiastical parish. The hamlet of Coworth lies
in the south of Old Windsor.
The parish, which includes a large proportion of
the Great Park and part of Virginia Water, has an
area of 4,320 acres, of which 2,961 are permanent
grass, 488 woods and plantations and only 213 arable
land. (fn. 1) The soil is sand and gravel with some clay
and a subsoil of London Clay. Wheat, oats, barley
and peas are cultivated. The land falls from 288 ft.
above the ordnance datum in the west to 51 ft. in
the east at the river level. The northern and part
of the western boundary is formed by the Battle
Bourne, while the New Cut isolates the bend of the
river in which Ham Fields are situated.
The village is quite modern, and lies to the west
of the road from Datchet to Staines. The cottages
are built of brick and roofed with slates or tiles.
The church stands about three-quarters of a mile to
the east of the village and close to the river; the
churchyard and grounds in the immediate vicinity
are nicely wooded. On the south side of a lane
running west from the Windsor Road, about a quarter
of a mile from the west end of the settlement, stands
a modern cottage on a moated site called Earl Godwin's
Castle. The inner moat is complete with the exception of a crossing to the house, which has been filled
in, but the outer one, which is of considerable extent,
can in most parts only just be traced.
The royal chapel of All Saints was erected by
Queen Victoria near the Royal Lodge. In the
village there is a Gospel mission hall.
The village of Sunningdale is quite modern and
somewhat suburban in character. It is composed of
two settlements, the one having grown up along the
London Road to the north-east of the station, while
the other lies about a triangle of roads situated about
a quarter of a mile to the west of the London Road
and north of the station. The church stands at the
junction of the two roads forming the south corner
of the triangle, while flowing to the north into the
Virginia Water between the two settlements is a
small stream.
In Sunningdale there are a Baptist chapel built in
1828, a Congregational chapel built in 1875 and a
Primitive Methodist chapel.
Cumberland Lodge in the Great Park was built in
the reign of Charles II, when it was known as
the Ranger's or Great Lodge. It was afterwards
improved by the Earl of Portland and the dowager
Duchess of Marlborough. It was the seat of William
Duke of Cumberland, who died in 1765, and is
now occupied by Prince and Princess Christian of
Schleswig-Holstein, Prince Christian being the ranger
of Windsor Forest. The house, which is faced with
red brick and is generally three stories in height,
consists of a rectangular block, with the entrance
front towards the north-east and an office wing on
the north. The western portion of the entrance
front, built early in the reign of George III and
containing a suite of state apartments, was burnt in
1869. The southern rooms, and perhaps the southwest front towards the garden, represent the extent
of the original building, but the drawing room,
which occupies the whole of the southern end of
the house, is said to have been added by George IV.
The Gothic facing of this and the garden front was
carried out by Wyatt. Extensive alterations have
recently been completed by which the former dining
room immediately behind the entrance vestibule has
been transformed into a large staircase hall and a new
dining room has been made on the north-east front
to the right of the entrance by throwing two smaller
rooms into one. With the exception of some white
marble chimney-pieces of the Adam type, no old
fittings of interest remain. To the north-west of
the house are large stable buildings, the north-east
range, which, with the house adjoining on the east,
appears to be in the main of the early 18th century,
having a central archway surmounted by a pediment
and clock-turret. The Royal Lodge, adjacent to this,
formerly the summer residence of George IV, is now
the residence of the Hon. Lady Ellis, widow of
Maj.-Gen. Sir Arthur Ellis, G.C.V.O., C.S.I. Holly
Grove, inclosed from the waste in 1773, became
the seat of Andrew Snape Hamond, created a baronet
in 1783, (fn. 2) and is now occupied by Capt. Sir Walter
D. S. Campbell, K.C.V.O., the deputy-ranger of the
park. Woodside is occupied by Col. Robert W. W.
Follett; Ouseley Lodge is the seat of Lord Dunboyne,
D.L.; the Dell was owned by Baron Sir John W. von
Schröder up to the time of his death in 1910;
Pelling Place is the seat of Mrs. Irving; the Friary,
that of Mr. Francis Ricardo, D.L., J.P.
Other residences are Burfield Lodge, the Priory,
the Grange and the Manor Cottage. Coworth Park,
the seat of the Earl of Derby, is an old house surrounded by a thickly wooded park. It is described
as a manor in 1770, when William Hatch and Elizabeth his wife conveyed it to William Shepheard. (fn. 3)
It belonged to John Alves Arbuthnot, J.P., who
died in 1875. His son William sold it to Sir
William Farmer in 1884, who sold it to Lord
Stanley, the present Earl of Derby. (fn. 4) Sunningdale
Park, a modern mansion with beautiful grounds, is
the property of Major W. J. Joicey, J.P., V.D.
Lynwood, Shrubbs Hill Place and Broadlands in this
parish are respectively owned by Mr. G. R. Thompson, D.L., J.P., Mr. Horton Harrild and Mr. P. B.
Burgoyne, and there are several other mansions in
the district.
Beaumont Lodge, originally called Bowman's
Lodge, was built by Lord Weymouth, who died in
1705. The house with 91 acres was bought in 1789
by Warren Hastings, who lived here during part of
his trial. It was afterwards occupied by Mr. Henry
Griffiths, who rebuilt it. (fn. 5) It is now a Roman Catholic
College under the Jesuits, and has a chapel dedicated
in honour of St. Stanislaus.
Among place-names found in Old Windsor are
Wipestrode, (fn. 6) Nazeing (fn. 7) and la Wodegrene (fn. 8) (xiii cent.);
Barndestone by le Knappes, (fn. 9) meadows called Quenegrove, (fn. 10) le Walles, le Hame, (fn. 11) a purpresture in Shawe
called Merserude (fn. 12) and an acre of waste called
Aylmerestrode (fn. 13) (xiv cent.); Crockerescroft, Crockereshaw and Garstones, (fn. 14) crofts called Leeryde (fn. 15) or
Leerydynge (fn. 16) or Lyryd, Crokkers and Archersryd,
Eldesworth (fn. 17) and Madgrove (fn. 18) (xv cent.); Todd's
Eight and the Lampe acre (fn. 19) (xvi cent.); crofts
called Colmanryde, Dowryde, Shepecotesrydende and
Crowne Croft, (fn. 20) a mansion called Walton's (fn. 21) or
Walton Mease, (fn. 22) a tenement called Pitters, (fn. 23) and
Bishopsgate, (fn. 24) Highfield, Easthurst, Oldworth alias
Ayllesworth alias Eastworth, Pescodstreete, Spitters,
and Shaweclose (fn. 25) (xvii cent.).
MANORS
The manor of OLD WINDSOR was
granted by Edward the Confessor to the
Abbot of Westminster in 1066. (fn. 26) William
the Conqueror, however, regained possession in exchange for lands in Essex. (fn. 27) The manor comprised
20 hides, of which 10 hides were held by various
tenants. Old Windsor remained with the Crown,
being leased out from time to time. (fn. 28) Katherine
Countess of Devon and Anne wife of Sir Thomas
Hayward, daughters and heirs of Edward IV, quitclaimed the manor to King Henry VIII in 1511. (fn. 29)
In 1606 the site of the manor was leased to
Richard Powney, who was succeeded about 1698 by
his son Richard. (fn. 30) In 1699 the lease was renewed
to Richard's son John, whose son Penyston was
dealing with the manor in 1737. (fn. 31) After his death
in 1757 his son and heir, Penyston Portlock Powney,
retained the lease of the site until 1786, in which
year he assigned his interest in it to Henry Isherwood. (fn. 32)
The latter died in 1787, leaving a son a minor, who
at some date previous to 1799 conveyed it to Arthur
Vansittart. (fn. 33) The manor is still held by the Crown.
Mote Park is an inclosure in Windsor which
dates from the reign of Edward IV. (fn. 34) After the
Restoration it was acquired by the Duke of Albemarle, (fn. 35) from whom it passed to Bernard Granville
(see Clewer), who was holding in 1699, (fn. 36) and whose
nephew George sold it in 1720 to Arthur Vansittart. (fn. 37)
The son of the latter, of the same name, was dealing
with it in 1761, (fn. 38) and by his son Arthur it was conveyed to the Crown in 1813 for a sum of £23,000.
There were fisheries at Old Windsor at the time
of the Great Survey. (fn. 39) The King's Weir in Old
Windsor is mentioned in 1300, when Hugh le
Despenser received an order to repair it. (fn. 40) In 1316
it was leased to the chaplains of the Royal Chapel at
Windsor, (fn. 41) and in 1484 James Whitfield, one of the
king's yeomen, received the custody of it. (fn. 42)
The manor of SHAWE (Shaghe, xiii cent.) is
called the 'king's old purpresture' in 1280, when it
was held on lease with the manor of Old Windsor. (fn. 43) It
seems to have been part of the lands granted to
Oliver de Bordeaux (see Foliejohn in Winkfield)
and surrendered to the Crown by William Trussel. (fn. 44)
In 1363 it was granted at fee farm to Robert Hartley,
but escheated before 1436, (fn. 45) after which it seems to
have been held by the Thorpes of Thorpe (co.
Surrey) until 1481, when it was reconveyed to the
Crown. (fn. 46) During the 16th and 17th centuries it
was held by various tenants. (fn. 47) In 1699 it was
granted to William Aldworth, (fn. 48) whose descendant,
Lord Braybrooke, was holding in 1813. (fn. 49)
The manor of TILE evidently gave its name to
the family of Tile, Tyghele or Tuyle. Land in
Old Windsor held by Gilbert de Tile (fn. 50) was taken
into the king's hands as parcel of the manor of Old
Windsor, but was confirmed in 1270 to Alexander
son of Gilbert after judgement given in the King's
Court. (fn. 51) John de Tile, who in 1324 made a settlement of his lands, (fn. 52) apparently left an heir Thomas, (fn. 53)
who is described as the king's esquire in 1386, when
licence was granted to him to inclose and make a
park of 70 acres of his lands lying round his place
called Tyllestenement. (fn. 54) In 1483 Agnes widow of
another Thomas Tile and John his son held the estate. (fn. 55)
Agnes was still living in 1512. (fn. 56) In 1580 Edward
Tile conveyed the property as a manor to John
Morley. (fn. 57) In 1601 John Tile remitted his right to
Edward Morley, (fn. 58) by whom Tile was sold in 1606
to Robert Barker. (fn. 59) The latter had a son Andrew,
who was engaged in a suit in 1639 as to whether
certain lands were part of the manor of 'Tileplace.' (fn. 60)
Robert, Andrew and Matthew Barker were dealing
with the manor in 1640–1. (fn. 61) In 1704 John Clinch,
Isabella Foote and others were the possessors, (fn. 62) and
in 1715 it was conveyed by Arabella Foote to
Richard Topham. (fn. 63) The family of Topham owned
the neighbouring manor of Clewer Brocas (q.v.), and
possibly this estate subsequently followed its descent.
The site of the original manor-house is now
occupied by Tileplace Farm, which is still surrounded
by a moat.
The RECTORY MANOR of Old Windsor or
lands appurtenant to the church belonged to the abbey
of Waltham. (fn. 64) The grant of a garden was made to
the canons in the reign of Henry III to enlarge their
court there. (fn. 65) The descent of the manor is the same
as that of the rectory (q.v.).
CHURCHES
The church of ST. PETER consists of a continuous chancel and
nave measuring internally 99 ft. 2 in.
by 25 ft. 5 in. (30 ft. 7 in. of the length being given
to the chancel, which is divided from the nave by a
modern screen), a modern north chancel aisle, a west
tower 12 ft. 5 in. by 11 ft. 11 in., and a modern
porch.
The tower and the east wall of the chancel are of
the early 13th century, but the north and south
walls of both chancel and nave appear to have been
rebuilt about the middle of the 14th century, when
the chancel was made the same width as the nave.
No further structural alterations appear to have been
made until 1863–4, when the building was restored
by Sir Gilbert Scott, who reroofed the chancel and
nave and added the north chancel aisle to make up
for the sittings lost by the removal of a west gallery.
At the same time a new south porch was built and
the spire was added to the tower. During these
alterations the tower arch was discovered and the
opening in the east wall of the ringing chamber
brought to light.
In the east wall of the chancel is a group of three
lancets, the centre light, which is original, being placed
at a higher level than the side ones; these were reduced
by Sir Gilbert Scott to correspond in width with the
centre light, having been widened at some previous
period. Below their sills on either side of the altar
are large aumbries. On the north is a modern arcade
of two bays opening into the aisle, and on the south
are two modern windows, the eastern a copy of the
nave windows and the western a lancet. To the
west of them is a small pointed doorway with an
outer relieving arch of tiles. At the south-east is a
double piscina with circular basins under a pointed
head.
In the north wall of the nave are four squareheaded windows, much restored, but all of 14th-century
date. The north-east window is divided by mullions
carried through to the head into three trefoiled lights
with a trefoil in the head of each division, while the
three remaining windows are each of two lights of
similar design. A brick relieving arch is visible
externally between the second and third windows,
but all trace of a doorway has disappeared. The
windows in the south wall are similar in design and
arrangement to those in the north. Between the
second and third from the east is a pointed doorway
with continuous chamfered angles and a segmental
rear arch, and having over the stone head a relieving
arch of bricks.
The chancel and nave walls are of flint with chalk
dressings to the doorways and windows, but the
quoins and dressings to the buttresses, which have
been entirely renewed, are of stone. Inside the walls
are plastered and decorated with modern wall paintings, giving anything but a happy effect.
The east window of the modern chancel aisle is of
three lights, while in the north wall is a two-light
square-headed window, similar to those lighting the
nave, to the west of which is a pointed doorway. In
the west wall is a two-light pointed window. At the
angles of the north wall are square buttresses. The
walls are faced with flint with stone dressings.
The tower is in one stage externally, and has
restored buttresses of one offset at the western
angles. The tower arch is pointed and of two
chamfered orders with labels. The outer order is the
full width of the tower and springs from chamfered
abaci, but the inner one is carried on corbels, round
which the chamfered abacus is continued. The ground
stage is lighted by three restored lancets with widely
splayed inner jambs in the side and west walls.
The inner splays of the west light have been carried
down to form the jambs of a pointed doorway of two
chamfered orders, while below the sill a small segmental arch has been thrown. Over the west
window of the ringing chamber is a small squareheaded light with original inner jambs and pointed
rear arch, while at the south-east of this story, looking
on to the roof, is an original pointed doorway.
Opening into the bell-chamber are four single lights,
one in each wall; the south window is four-centred,
but the others are pointed. All have original
rounded rear arches, but the outer face of the east
window is modern. The tower is finished by a
modern broach spire covered with shingles. The
walls are faced chiefly with flint, although a certain
amount of chalk has also been used, while the mortar
joints have been galleted with flint. Over the south
doorway of the nave is a modern wooden porch.
The pulpit is modern, but the font is apparently
of early 17th-century date, being similar in design to
the one in the parish church at Bray. It is octagonal
with a moulded stem; the upper part is panelled
with quatrefoiled arches, in which are leaves and
symbolic devices.
There remain several pieces of 14th-century glass.
In each of the trefoils in the head of the easternmost
window in the north wall of the nave are two winged
dragons with their necks entwined; they are on a
deep red background and are of a rich purple colour,
though those in the westernmost trefoil are of a deeper
tint than the others. In the head of the lower lights
is some original canopy work, though the bottom
part of the window is filled in with modern stained
glass in which the design of the heads has been
carried through in a feeble manner. In a niche in
the head of the westernmost light is the figure of the
Child Christ with a nimbus, while across the top of
the centre division is a tablet with the letters
'I.N.R.I.' In the trefoils in the upper part of the
next windows are the letters 'T.T.' on a dark blue
ground surrounded by a border of white and gold
diaper; on the lower part of the border are the
letters 'R.R.' The upper part of the lower lights is
filled with canopy work similar to that in the first
window; the background is red, and in a niche in
the centre light is the small figure of a man. The
glass in the westernmost window in the south wall is
similar to that in the second window of the north wall.
In the trefoils in the head are the letters 'T.T.,' while
the upper part of the lights under is filled in with
14th-century canopy work; in a niche in the head
of the east light is a small seated figure. There are
also small fragments of dark red damasked glass in the
head of the easternmost window of the south wall of
the nave.
On the south wall of the nave, set with later
tablets in a marble frame at the expense of Queen's
College, Oxford, in 1878, are brasses to Humphrey
Michell, 'Survayor' of Windsor Castle, who died in
1598, and his second wife Frances (Waller), with
effigies of himself and his two wives, and to Samuel
Michell, 'one of his Ma:tyes Marshalls of ye hall,'
who died in 1613. On the east side on the upper
part of the tablet is a Latin inscription to John
Michell, who died in 1661, in the fiftieth year of his
age, and an inscription to his mother Anne, who
afterwards married William Duke of Richmond and
died in 1669, in her eighty-first year. On the
opposite side of the slab is an inscription to John
Michell's wife Benet, daughter and co-heir with
Elizabeth, afterwards Dame Oxenden, of Matthew
Read of Folkestone, who died in 1683, aged sixty-three, leaving John Michell as the sole survivor of
this branch of the family. Below is a Latin inscription to Humfrey Michell, who died in 1696, aged
eighty-four. In the churchyard is the monument of
Mrs. Mary Robinson, better known as 'Perdita,'
who died 26 December 1800, and was buried here
'in Compliance with her Particular Request.' The
date of her birth is given as 27 November 1758.
There is a ring of eight bells: the treble and
second are by Mears & Stainbank, 1890, who at that
date recast the fifth, which was originally made
by Thomas Swaine in 1775; the third is also by
Mears & Stainbank, 1872, while the fourth, sixth,
seventh and the tenor were all cast by Thomas
Swaine in 1775.
The plate consists of a silver chalice, a paten and
a flagon, all of the year 1701; the chalice is
inscribed 'Old Windsor Chalice Com: Berks 1702,'
while the paten and flagon are similarly inscribed.
There is also a smaller silver chalice and a paten,
both stamped with the date letter of 1750; the
chalice is inscribed, 'This Chalice was purchas'd with
part of the Money left to the Parish of Old Windsor
by Dr. La Croze, Vicar 1725'; the paten is
inscribed in a similar manner. A modern silver
paten of 1846 completes the set.
The registers previous to 1812 are as follows:
(i) marriages 1754 to 1791; (ii) baptisms and burials
1772 to 1812; (iii) marriages 1791 to 1812.
The church of HOLY TRINITY, Sunningdale,
consists of a chancel with a south organ chamber, a
north chapel, north vestries, a central tower, north
and a south transpets, a nave, north and south aisles
and a south porch. The building was first erected
in 1839, but in 1860 the chancel was rebuilt and
the south chapel added, while the remaining portion
of the structure was entirely rebuilt in 1887; the
organ chamber was enlarged and the vestries added
in 1900. The materials are red brick relieved with
flint work and bands of purple brick, and the style
is of a 13th-century character.
ADVOWSON
A priest held 1½ hides at Old
Windsor at the time of the Great
Survey, (fn. 66) and therefore probably a
church existed. In 1189 the church of Old Windsor
was granted by Richard I to Waltham Abbey for the
hospitality of the monastery, being then described as
a chapel belonging to St. John's Church at New
Windsor. (fn. 67) In 1224 the abbot obtained a licence to
inclose his burial-ground, through which the king's
highway passed, provided he substituted a new road
near it. (fn. 68)
After the Dissolution the advowson came to the
Crown, with whom it has remained to the present
day. (fn. 69)
In 1306 a grant of an acre of waste at Aylmerstrode
in the forest was made to Waltham Abbey for the
building of a house in which to store the tithes from
purprestures in the forest belonging to the churches of
Old and New Windsor. (fn. 70) After the Reformation the
rectory was leased in 1575–6 to Humphrey Michell, (fn. 71)
and in 1606 to Richard Powney, (fn. 72) lessee of the
site of the manor of Old Windsor, the descent of
which it follows from this date. (fn. 73)
CHARITIES
By an order of the Charity Commissioners of 22 September 1896,
made under the Local Government
Act of 1894, the following charities were determined
to be parochial charities other than ecclesiastical
charities, on the government body of which the
parish council of Old Windsor and the parish council
of Sunningdale were each entitled to appoint three
additional members, namely, the charity of James
Weldon, or the North Town (Cookham) tithe fund,
founded by will dated 3 June 1686. The annual
amount of the tithe rent-charge varies. In 1907 the
amount received was £17 17s., of which £7 was
distributed in bread among eighty poor of Old
Windsor and £6 12s. 4d. paid to the treasurer of the
Sunningdale charities.
Mr. Banister, date unknown, charged his estate
with 10s. a year to be spent in twenty sixpenny
loaves for the Old Windsor poor. The annuity is
now paid by Messrs. Nevill Reid & Co.
William Redington, founded by will 11 April
1755. The donor charged his estate with the annual
payment of £13 for distribution of bread in this
parish, Langley Marish, Bucks., and Thorpe, Surrey.
The estate charged now belongs to Lieut.-Col. the
Rt. Hon. Sir William H.P. Carington, K.C.V.O., and
Mrs. Sarah Ann Mills, by whom in 1907 the sums
of £9 18s. 6d. and £2 19s. 6d. were respectively paid,
and applied under the title of the quarterly bread
charity among the poor of the several parishes.
George Stevens, by gift in 1813, £50 for bread,
trust fund, £87 14s. 5d. consols.
Fuel allotment, acquired under an inclosure award
dated 2 September 1817. Trust fund consists of
£1,234 18s. 3d. consols arising from the sale in 1875
of land allotted. The annual dividends, amounting
to £30 17s. 4d., are applied in the distribution of coal
among the poor of Old Windsor and Sunningdale.
Mrs. Catherine Gossett, by will 1830, legacy
£50, now represented, with Lady Penyston's gift of
£100 and accumulations, by £207 18s. 2d. consols,
producing £5 3s. 8d., applied in apprenticing.
Miss Sophia Jane Maria Beal Bonnell, by will
proved in the P.C.C. 8 April 1841, trust fund,
£333 6s. 8d. consols. By a scheme of the Charity
Commissioners of 13 April 1875 the dividends,
amounting to £8 6s. 8d., are made applicable in
providing clothes, bedding, fuel and other articles in
kind for the poor of the parish. The several sums of
stock are held by the official trustees.
The Waste Land Charity—The official trustees
hold a sum of £2,093 6s. 4d. consols, arising from
sales from time to time of waste lands, the dividends
of which, amounting to £52 6s. 8d., are applied
towards the poor rate of Old Windsor and Sunningdale.
The trust known as the Penny Royal Cottages,
originally built for the use of the poor with funds
left by Alexander Morley (will 1594) and others.
The accounts for 1907 show the trust property to
be vested in the vicar and churchwardens, and to
consist of nine cottages and gardens, producing
£17 16s. a year, which is needed for keeping the
property in repair. There are also forty-seven garden
allotments vested in the vicar and churchwardens, let
at the annual rent of one penny per pole to working
men.
It was stated in the table of benefactions in the
church that Edward Lane charged the great tithes
of Coworth, Old Windsor, with 40s. for the poor
yearly on Easter Monday. The annuity is received
from the Earl of Derby and applied in 1907 in
tickets for goods for eight widows at 5s. each.
Mrs. Dorcas Walters, as appears from the Parliamentary returns of 1786, left £40 and John Meredith £5
for the poor. These sums were laid out in land in
respect of which allotments were made on the inclosure in 1816, out of which the annuity was paid.
In 1861 Mrs. Maria Hughes, by will proved
10 September, left £100 stock to the vicar to be
applied by him towards such charitable objects and
purposes in the parish as he in his discretion might
think fit. The sum of £100 consols is held by the
official trustees, the dividends of which are, in accordance with a declaration of trust of 10 July 1863,
applied in the distribution of blankets.
In 1889 the Rev. James St. John Blunt, a former
vicar, by his will proved 28 June, bequeathed £100
to the vicar and churchwardens, the income to be
applied towards the preservation of the old churchyard. The legacy is represented by £101 5s. 4d.
consols with the official trustees.
Educational Charities.
—The official trustees hold
a sum of £770 17s. 7d. consols, representing a legacy
by will of Lady Onslow dated in 1786. A further
sum of £2,968 5s. 9d. consols is also held by them,
representing the gift of Mrs. Ann Hammersley by
deed 1799. The dividends from these charities,
amounting to £93 9s. 4d., were formerly applied
under a scheme of the Court of Chancery, 1843, to
the school of industry, which has ceased to exist, but
are now, under a scheme of the Charity Commissioners of 20 December 1878, paid in aid of the
general income of the National schools.